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Post by Chris W on Nov 22, 2018 14:07:48 GMT -7
Just finished the book. I'm happy to find I really enjoyed it. I was concerned going into it that the book would be a junk fluff fest, made for the main stream audience and put together in a hurry. Turns out that, I thought, it was a good read, and I'm glad we (the rest of you) chose it.
Mark, any other thoughts on Mike Caldwell?
BTW, I still get "my" climbing in; it's just usually on weekday mornings early when I don't have the kids with me. I've found it to be less stressful overall if I'm not trying hard to send on the same days I have the whole crew at the crag.
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Post by MarkAnderson on Nov 23, 2018 8:51:52 GMT -7
Just finished the book. I'm happy to find I really enjoyed it. I was concerned going into it that the book would be a junk fluff fest, made for the main stream audience and put together in a hurry. Turns out that, I thought, it was a good read, and I'm glad we (the rest of you) chose it. Agreed. I actually got the book over the summer, and its just been sitting on my night stand gathering dust because I wasn't psyched to read it. But I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it (I tend to go for books I think I can learn something from, rather than books that are just purely entertaining). The team clearly put a lot of effort into it and came up with a great product. Mark, any other thoughts on Mike Caldwell? I think he is an amazing father. It sounds like there were some ups and downs, but who doesn't have a few negative interactions with their Dad? Overall, he seems incredibly devoted to Tommy, and I think Tommy owes the vast majority of his success to his Dad. Tommy seems to thing he's great because he works really hard. I disagree (I might even go so far as to say he is great in spite of working too hard--clearly working hard helped him when he was a teenager and his body could handle it, but I think its worked against him over the last 10 years or so; consider the labrum tears from over-rehearsing the dyno). I think he's great because he got a 10 year head start at a time when almost nobody was taking their kids climbing. Now its common place, and now teenagers who climb 5.14 are common place. I think he also has some genetic gifts that were handed down from his very athletic and hard-working father. Maybe I'm biased in favor of fathers?, haha. Some could argue that he was a bit helicopter-y or maybe over-bearing, but it seemed to me like he was very supportive and provided the occasional nudge that Tommy needed to take the next step. Granted, this is all from Tommy's perspective, but it doesn't seem like he harbors any resentment towards his dad or the way he was raised. He seems very appreciative. BTW, I still get "my" climbing in; it's just usually on weekday mornings early when I don't have the kids with me. I've found it to be less stressful overall if I'm not trying hard to send on the same days I have the whole crew at the crag. If I'm just going for the day I prefer to go without the kids, but there are circumstances where that doesn't work out and I have to bring everyone, either because we're on a road trip or I can't find a partner. In those cases its still all about me and the kids would rather not be dragged to the crag.
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Post by Chris W on Nov 23, 2018 19:00:25 GMT -7
I agree. From the book, it seems like he really went out of his way to include his family on his adventures and then went out of his way to support Tommy on his (Tommy's) adventures. And, whether it was Tommy's personality or Mike's methods, he seemed to do it in a way that drew Tommy into his passions, instead of pushing him away. I see a lot of kids dragged into things by their parents (multiple ball games per day per weekend, training camps, coaching clinics, etc.
I hadn't thought of that, but I guess you're right. I'm always fascinated by what makes some folks, like Tommy, climb 5.15 and others (me) climb more "typical" grades. I know hard work is a big part of it, but it can't be all about hard work. I work really hard, but I'm redpointing 5.13, not Flex Luther. Still, I suppose I started when I was 25 (I'll be 36 in January), not 3 years old, and I didn't really have a clue how to train properly until 2014.
I know I definitely am.
Let me know if you want/need any ideas to keep the kids happy. It's always a work in progress, but I've figured out a few tricks.
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Post by Chris W on Nov 27, 2018 14:42:16 GMT -7
I followed up the book with a viewing of the Dawn Wall movie. The intro was so cheesy I almost turned it off. I thought the movie was good, but I like watching people climb.
The movie was a very abridged version of the book. The only thing that stuck out to me was that both Tommy and Kevin were sick when they started the route. "Stuffy, achy, sore throat" was what Kevin said. Tommy replied with "I think I have what you have".
I was impressed that they climbed so we'll while they were sick. I usually rest when I'm sick, and I seem to have a measurable decrease in strength and power when I'm ill. Maybe it's just all in my head though.
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